


Serendipity

by tsundo



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: IDW 3 continuity which I am writing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26831500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsundo/pseuds/tsundo
Summary: Orion and Shockwave go on a first date and neither of them have dated before.
Relationships: Orion Pax/Shockwave
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14
Collections: kage's shockop fics





	Serendipity

It was always a habitual thing for Orion to wear his mask. A source of comfort, a way for him to protect himself in at least some certain way. He appreciated how it hid his expressions, how it made it difficult for others to dismiss him as his EM field was always hidden as well.

He never showed his face entirely to anyone. It just felt unnatural to him. It made him feel exposed more than anything and it was something he didn’t want to deal with. He’d only take his mask off for medical reasons if he were at a clinic and getting repairs but never did he take it off willingly. Even when he went to the bar with Elita after work hours, he’d keep half of his mask on, the other half open for him to drink or eat. That was, until he met them. They were essentially the opposite of what Orion was. Where he was closed off in most cases, Shockwave was out loud and passionate, they weren’t afraid to show their emotions and get their point across. 

It was meant to be a professional relationship but Orion, never having experienced love before, felt something entirely foreign towards Shockwave. He didn’t know what to feel of it and whether or not he should tell them. Whenever he saw them, his frame felt hot and cold at the same, nervousness arising within him as the fear of looking foolish in front of Shockwave. It was supposed to be a one time thing. Orion was simply supposed to drop off the Matrix of Leadership and complete a delivery as that was his _job_. But he couldn’t help upon meeting Shockwave tell them about how he admired their works, their writings on everything they researched or learned, even their political writings. For someone who spent a lot of time working in a lab, they seemed to always be writing. But again the words just slipped out from Orion. He thought he was being polite and making small talk, after all, Shockwave had kindly invited him and Elita to see what they had to deliver.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help but ask,” Orion started, “Are you the same Shockwave that wrote about the manipulation of memory?”

“Among other things, are you a fan?” Shockwave replied. They then turned towards him and smiled, making Orion feel something indescribable but he could feel the energon rushing to his faceplates, and once again he was grateful that his mask was on. 

“I tend to read more about Cybertron’s history as I’ve been more interested in that but I found myself reading your thesis on it as well as other topics you’ve written about. I’ve found your works to be quite enjoyable,” Orion replied. He didn’t understand how Shockwave could smile even wider. 

“You’re quite the charmer, aren’t you?” Shockwave said. “I assume you enjoyed my more historical essays more?” Orion doesn’t reply for a moment as he processes what Shockwave just said and for the first time in his life, he feels like his EM field is going to pour through for others to see. 

“Yes,” he said, trying to not make it awkward. 

“If you’d like, we can talk about it more after I’m finished with work for the day,” they then said casually. “I have time to fly over to Polyhex, is there somewhere you’d like me to meet you?” Orion almost bluescreened at what Shockwave just said and that was the first time he looked like a fool in front of them. They didn’t laugh at all or anything, they simply waited.

“Um,” he finally said. “There’s a place called Jazz’ in South Polyhex.”

“Perfect, I’ll meet you there at 26:00 in that timezone.”

* * *

Orion can’t remember the last time he felt this nervous or how much he prepared for this. Something in his processor tugged that he should make a good impression so once he got off for the day, he immediately went to his apartment, went into the washracks and cleaned up. The thought of buffing himself ran through his mind but he couldn’t remember the last time he did that but he knew it was time consuming. For the time being, this would be good enough. He hoped at least. When he arrived at Jazz’, he saw Shockwave already there, sitting at the bar and conversing with the owner, Jazz. Shockwave immediately noticed Orion entering the bar and they waved him over.

“Am I late?” Orion asked, already worried. Shockwave shook their helm and smiled again. 

“I came a bit early, I wanted to see if the Jazz was the one I knew and lo and behold, it is,” they chuckled.

“You know each other?” he said, slightly relaxing. 

“He showed up to one of my public conferences, besides I’m very familiar with his philanthropic tendencies when he’s working on his music career,” they said, looking towards Jazz.

“Aw, you’re too nice, Shockwave, honestly it’s surprising that you decided to come visit my bar,” Jazz said. He then looked over to Orion. “But, I see why you’re here now,” he said with a smirk, cleaning a glass. “I’ll leave you two to it,” he said, walking off to another customer after that. 

“You look nice,” Orion said quietly.

“Have you ever been on a date before?” Shockwave asked. Orion immediately bristled and felt embarrassed. He can’t remember the last time he had a crush on anyone honestly.

“I’m not poking fun at you or anything, I’m genuinely curious,” they said with a light laugh. “I’ll admit, this isn’t something I’ve done at all either,” they said, their EM field opening up just a little bit. Orion could feel they were nervous, despite the smile on their face and their relaxed posture. “I’ve kept myself busy with my work and everything else, I didn’t really put the time aside to pursue romance.”

“Then why do it now?” Orion asked. Shockwave laughed and he knew he said something wrong. 

“It’d be cliche of me to say that you’re ‘different’,” Shockwave replied, “But if I were to be completely honest, I have no idea,” they said. They twirled the straw around in their drink with their digit and they couldn’t help but make a face. “I’ve been attracted to other mechs before, that’s a given. I just never… felt strongly enough to act on it,” they said. “But meeting you today felt different. And I wanted to figure out why,” they took a sip of their drink. “Of course, it all depends on if you feel the same as well,” Shockwave then said. “If not, then I’m content with our paths crossing once and then never again, after all, I live in Iacon and you live in Polyhex.”

“I think I’d need more time to answer that question,” Orion replied truthfully. “To be honest, when you asked to meet me after today, I didn’t know what to think. But,” he then paused and debated whether or not he should say what he was going to say next. He mentally just went fuck it and said it anyway. “I really like your smile.” There was another pause and Orion watched Shockwave’s faceplates flush with magenta. They covered their face with a servos, not hiding from Orion but from the other side. He could see clearly that they were smiling much more than before, cheekplates scrunched up. They were much more expressive than Orion ever was. 

The date went well, the awkwardness that the two came in with was something they came to accept, knowing that neither of them had been in a relationship before and were entering at the same level. It was that mutual understanding that let them ease into it so easily. When the date came to an end, with having eaten good Polyhexian food, Shockwave and Orion stood at the outside of the bar. The two stood by each other at a respectful distance before Shockwave gave a content sigh.

“I had a wonderful time,” they said. Orion hummed in agreement and the two stood in silence for a bit before he finally had the courage to say something. 

“I’d like to see you again,” he said. And again, and again, and again. But of course he couldn’t say that. He couldn’t see them smile but he felt their EM field spike with happiness. 

“Can I try something?” they then asked. He looked towards them with curiosity and offlined his optics a couple times. He then watched as they pressed a kiss to the corner of his maskplate. Out of sheer surprise, his mask snapped aside to reveal his face. But instead of closing it out of sheer embarrassment he lingered, letting them look at him before his mask slowly snapped closed. “You’re really handsome,” they said. “Mask on or off,” they said, quieter this time. “I mean, regardless I still get to see your optics.” They then smiled towards him again this time and he couldn’t help but feel his frame go warm, processor almost going blank again. They transformed into their altmode and flew off, Orion getting a ping in his internal comm. link with a time, date and location for their next date. 

He couldn’t help but find himself looking forward to it.


End file.
